| Wildrose | |
| Director: | John Hanson |
| Studio: | New Front Films |
| Distributor: | Troma |
| Producer: | Sandra Schulberg |
| Cinematography: | Peter Stein |
| Editing: | Arthur Coburn |
| Runtime: | 95 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | < $1 million |
Wildrose is a 1984 American independent drama film directed by John Hanson, produced by New Front Films, and distributed by Troma. It stars Lisa Eichhorn and Tom Bower supported by a cast of largely nonprofessional actors, and is predominantly set and filmed in Minnesota's Iron Range.
Recently divorced from her abusive alcoholic husband (Stephen Yoakam), June's (Lisa Eichhorn) job as a miner in Minnesota's Mesabi Range becomes more challenging because of harassment from her male colleagues and a lack of support from her mother. She considers her independence, her family, and her future with fellow miner Rick (Tom Bower) as she develops a romantic relationship with him.[1] [2] [3]
The film was shot on location in Minnesota's Mesabi Iron Range, including town scenes in Eveleth. Other scenes were filmed in Bayfield, Wisconsin.[4]
It was made for under $1 million (equivalent to $ million in).[5]
The film was selected for the Museum of Modern Art's New Films/New Directors series,[6] and was a finalist for the Critics Prize at the Venice Film Festival. Tom Bower was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.[7] It screened out of competition at the Berlin Film Festival and at the Boston Film Festival.[8]
Ms. magazine called it "[as] visually rich as it is emotionally resonant."[9] The Los Angeles Times review wrote that the "small core of professional actors creates collides with the film's numerous self-conscious non-professionals, who inadvertently remind us that Eichhorn, Bower and others are, after all, 'acting' ... But the pluses outweigh the minuses." Variety called Eichhorn's performance "moving, natural ... in a decidedly unglamorous role" and praised the camerawork as "extraordinary, vivid."[10]